We live in a world of constant pain and tragedy, some of it so outside of our control (earthquakes, tsunamis, tornados) that we can't help but be victims asking an unanswerable 'why'? Other times the tragedy is more nuanced, an endless combination of circumstance and individual choice. The type of conundrum that points to poverty as the root cause of crime but still holds those individuals accountable for their actions.

Living here in Uganda the stark reality of both situations is played out on a daily basis. A region ravaged by nearly 30 years of brutal conflict, nestled between the ever unstable Sudan and DRC, and dependent on agricultural for 80% of the livelihoods is one where the horrific and the common-place come to meet all too often. And this is why we are here, to help overcome or remove these obstacles. Or at the very least we are trying, even if change comes in barely visible forms, surely the future is looking more promising then the past. And while the terrible hardships that take place here should be unacceptable to everyone, there is a certain understanding (accepted or not) that Northern Uganda is coming from such a difficult place that it would be foolish to expect major changes overnight. Abuse, rape, abject poverty are all horrible things, but we can't change them instantly so we keep plugging away. I honestly don't know if that’s the right way to approach the situation, but after years of this type of work I'm not sure I have another choice.

But in the US it's supposed to be different, we may have our faults and problems, but surely they don't compare to other parts of the world. And then you read statements like this:

"Over the past 10 years, more than 20,000 American children are believed to have been killed in their own homes by family members. That is nearly four times the number of US soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan." BBC News http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-15193530

The article goes on to comment on our lack of safety nets and poor public support of an overwhelmed and understaffed child protection system. How we as a country can so poorly serve the only truly innocent victims in our society is not only unconscionable, it’s criminal. The crime of neglect is so prevalent that we spend 6 times the amount on response to these abuses then the actions that might prevent them in the first place. My wife used to work as a social work in Los Angeles and now works on issues of sexual and gender based violence here in Uganda. On her more frustrating days she laments "These crimes have been taking place since the dawn of humankind and continue to happen in every country in the world, and yet here we are throwing a few bucks at a war ravage country and saying where doing to end domestic violence!" After reading the article above I can only agree with her how far we have to go, even right at home.